Naturally Non Overweight People - What do you eat?

Anoneemoose

Thank you again for all of the replies. They are very much appreciated.

Well something snapped in me today and I thought "I am sick of feeling rubbish" so I decided to really do something (I know, again!).

So, today I had coffee for breakfast. I really can't stomach eating first thing but I am going to try tomorrow.

I then had an m&s 'fuller for longer' thai green curry for lunch - I have bought myself 4 of these meals. (3 for £10 and one was a yellow sticker). Now I know ready meals are not the best way long term but I thought as the m&s ones were 'balanced', it is a good way of getting me used to normal portion sizes and different tastes so maybe I can try similar recipes for myself.

I have also been and bought some peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion and rocket so I can make some mixed, chopped salad. I got some wholemeal pitta and fruit salad as well as some lemon to put in my water to brighten it up!

I have had pre packed filled pasta and sauce tonight, but only because it needed using and I had about half the portion I normally would.

I am going to have a small fruit salad and a bar of aldi's dark choc for supper.

trolleyrun

I don't know how much I weigh as I don't own any scales, but I'm a size 8/10. The biggest I've been was bordering on a size 12 which didn't feel right for me and the smallest I've been was a size 4 which was equally horrid (during a period where I had depression and no money for food).

I do a fair bit of exercise, 3 structured classes per week (pilates and legs, bums & tums) and I walk at least 4 miles per day. My job is quite physical as well and I rarely sit down at work.

If I didn't do the amount of physical activity I do, I'd have to cut stuff out of my daily food intake. I don't count calories and I haven't got a clue as to how many calories various foods have. I'm more concerned about saturated fats, sugar and salt. Having heart disease in the family, I need to keep a close eye on my cholesterol.

So, to what I eat.
Breakfast is usually porridge made with semi-skimmed milk with a drizzle of agave nectar. As a treat I have honey nut cornflakes with milk, usually once a week.
Lunch is usually something cooked, such as soup. In the summer months I'll have a salad, no dressing.
Dinner can be Spag Bol, Ham hock, stir fry, bangers and mash or lots of other options.

I cook all meals from scratch. It's easier for me, as I'm Gluten Free.
I do travel a lot, and eat at hotels, especially breakfast. In those instances I'll start with fruit and then have eggs, beans, bacon etc.

I keep myself on the straight and narrow by how my clothes fit. If my clothes, especially my work uniform starts feeling tight, I up my exercise and ease off my portions, basically nipping it in the bud.

I don't tend to snack but I sometimes have a bit of chocolate. I don't drink fizzy pop and I don't buy crisps or biscuits as they're my demons. If they're not in the house, I can't eat them I do eat plenty of veg, both raw and cooked. I don't eat junk food - I can't as most of it has gluten in it. Also, there aren't many take-aways near me, which helps

Sorry for the essay!

InsideInsurance

newthrift wrote: »

helcat26 - this is very much a gripe I have when I listen to people talking and I heartly stand in agreement with what you have said!!
Calories in calories out I believe has been proven to actually be an incorrect way to measure as like you say some people were eating the recommended calories but in unhealthy options!

It is a highly simplistic way of looking at things but isnt incorrect. Looking at weight alone when it comes to diet is also incorrect but having the correct or incorrect level of Vitamin A isnt going to impact your weight.

Have to say that I dont have kids so cannot claim to have that level of intimate knowledge of someone's intake and exercise but as someone who has always been overweight it is something that I have always been interested in. Looking for that panacea that isnt eat better/ less and exercise more

I know a lot of friends who are thin who say "I can eat what I want" or "I eat like a horse" basically dont. A colleague is thin, verging on too thin, and she continuously goes on about how much she stuffs her face but having effectively lived with her for a month on a work trip she doesnt. Her lunches were almost always salads without the dressing and lean protein. Evening meal was equally small, mainly eating the veg and lean protein again and only lightly touching the starch source. Most days she went to the hotel gym.

Whilst I havent gone as far with other thin people in my life who've made similar claims what I have seen they are very similar. Those people who've said they eat like a horse and Ive actually seen eat like a horse were all overweight.

purpleshoes_2

I think the fast metabolism is a myth to be honest. Ive seen Tv programmes where two people were tracked, they drank some v expensive water that could track the cals that they consumed. The overweight person claimed to eat hardly anything and the underweight person claimed to stuff her face but when the results came in, the girl who needed to put on weight was well under what she needed calorie wise for the day and the overweight girl was massively underestimating her calorie intake.

All calories arent equal and Ive said this before, its about trying to maximise the nutrition you eat for the calories you consume as well.

Anoneemoose

Well, today has been good and I must admit I haven't had an energy slump (yet)!

Breakfast was 2 tablespoons of wholemeal museli with a bit of greek yogurt and a satsuma. I still couldn't stomach it first thing so. I had it at about 10 at work, not long after I got in.

Lunch was mixed salad (rocket, cherry toms, peppers, cucumber, red onion) with feta cheese. Was lovely. Although I was supposed to take a wholemeal pita in to have with it but forgot so I have just had that now with a tiny bit more feta and a lot more salad as I am peckish. I also had 7 brazil nuts.

For drinks. I have had water and 1 homemade latte (semi milk) and 2 black coffees with a single creamer sachet each.

I feel (relatively) alert and have been able to concentrate well at work too!

Tonight's meal will be an M&S one with fruit salad for pud! Yum.

cherylsurrey

I have been slim my whole adult life and would agree with Purpleshoes and Inside insurance. Most people who think they eat lots of food don't, and people who think they eat hardly anything and wonder why they are so big, eat much more than they think.


There are also those who do eat a lot, but burn it off playing football, doing a lot of walking or cycling/other physical activity in their job etc.


I also saw the show purpleshoes was talking about and it was very interesting, I wish I could think of the name as it's probably on youtube .


I stay slim with regular exercise which I have done since a teenager, and I know when I have had enough, so don't over eat, I hate feeling overfull, it makes me feel ill.


I also never eat fast food, or drink sugary drinks. My advice to anyone wanting to stay slim is a sensible amount of exercise on a regular basis, and cutting out all the rubbish, don't bother with fad diets, or excluding food groups like wheat unless your genuinely allergic, an eating plan has to be a way of life and something you can keep up for ever, a bit of self control helps too.

purpleshoes_2

It is on youtube, thats where I saw it, I think it was linked to that show where Andie Oliver who is a DJ lost a lot of weight, very interesting show, she was scanned at the beginning and it showed the fat that was wrapped around her internal organs, thats the issue as well, its not just how you look on the outside thats important, the inside does as well.

Im someone who left unchecked would be massive, Im five foot 1 but could eat the potions of a six foot builder. I enjoy exercise but a lot of ups and downs over the year has seen my weight yoyo but Im the lightest and at the smallest dress size Ive been for around 7 years. Its taken a lot of exercise, portion control, clean eating and a hell of a lot less alcohol to get there, but if I compare how I felt about myself last summer to how I feel about myself now, its like night and day.

I do an eating progamme based around Paleo principles and that might not work for everyone but its worked well for me.

theoretica

I've been slim all my life without any effort and think the aspect of eating whatever you want is how much 'what you want' varies between people, and also is a matter of habit. Growing up a lot of snacks were fruit, dried fruit or nuts, and they still are. That isn't to say I don't like all the stuff put by the checkouts - but through habit it isn't what I buy.

Also I think I gravitate towards something a bit akin to the fashionable 5:2 diet. Some meals are huge - and some days I eat three large meals + lots of cake. But other days and meals I fancy much less.

trailingspouse

belfastgirl - gosh. Quite a critique. But as you pointed out - what do you know?

I spent the first 45 years of my life being made fun of because I was so thin (from age 14 I weighed 7 1/2 stone, and stayed that way unless pregnant until I was 45, despite eating like a horse). With middle age, a bit of weight has appeared, but at 5'8" I'm still not exactly tubby.

I didn't post with the intention that my eating habits should be picked over - nor was I implying that my way is the right way. The OP asked for an idea of what naturally non-overweight people eat. This is what I eat. Not the same thing every day, probably not perfect, but over a week I reckon to have a balanced diet. Yes, I have sugar - but not an excessive amount. I also have carbs - but not an excessive amount. And I have fat - but not an excessive amount.

Pretty much all of the sugars and carbs I have are unrefined, and for me that's the important thing - the refined carbs (white sugar, white bread etc) are the baddies.

What I don't eat is important too - only one coffee a day, no fizzy pop or energy drinks, no sweets (not to the point of being a spoilsport - I just genuinely don't fancy them often), very little cake (had a slice of parkin tonight, but the last time I had cake was at a MacMillan coffee morning on 26th Oct, and that was just to be polite!), no ready meals, very few takeaways (usually fish and chips - I'll have fish and a handful of OH's chips).

barbiedoll

I do think that a lot of "larger" people genuinely don't realise how much they eat. A typical Chinese takeaway meal for one person seems to consist of a portion of something with noodles and sauce plus rice, plus spring rolls, plus prawn crackers, etc etc, not to mention the drinks on top. People don't realise the difference between appetite and hunger. Just because you fancy something to eat, doesn't mean that you're hungry. Appetite is wanting to eat something, hunger is needing to eat.

Many people have this notion that their plate must be cleared. Like the other "skinnies" on here, I can't bear being overfull, it makes me feel very uncomfortable. I don't eat any more at my Christmas dinner, than I do at a normal Sunday roast. I can't understand this expectation that we must stuff our faces full of "Christmas" food for several days during the holiday. It may have been different hundreds of years ago when our ancestors needed to gather food for the long winter, and a feast during December was a celebration of simply still being alive. In this day and age, most of us are well-fed all year round, we don't need to "stock up" during the winter months!

People also tend to eat far too quickly. We'll grab a meal before the cinema, we eat lunch on the go or at our desks, we see the term "fast food" as a sign that we should eat quickly and run, no-one has the time to sit and savour their food any more. When you eat quickly, by the time your stomach tells your brain that it is full, you have already eaten far too much.

I eat chocolate when I want, (once a day, a small bar), I eat loads of cheese, I have crisps every day (one packet only), if I fancy a couple of biscuits, I have them. But....I walk as much as I can, even though much of my day is spent in my car, I park so that I can walk to my destination. I always use the stairs, I don't drink much alcohol and I never drink fizzy drinks, whether diet or otherwise.